Knowing GM, the testing process probably begins by putting your tongue across the + and – terminals…a la 9V.

Maybe it’s just the black, but it does look good. Yeah it has the typical hybrid shape (I know- It’s not a hybrid) but compared the Prius or Insight I might not feel like a limp dick nerd looking at my car’s profile as I drive by the reflective glass of the building beside me.

Still- and I hate to bring it up again- you have to wonder why the Cruze looks like such a lame-ass effort when it’s the one supposed to make the profit until this one does? Sorry…but just asking.

From the side look, the nose is way too long. Why the nose is such a long one??? It looks ugly. Am I the only one complaining about the long nose???

I’m not ashamed to admit this. I do like the Concept Volt. When it became ‘production’ all that coolness left the building. I’m totally aware of how concept and production works, more so with a vehicle that is sensitive to aerodynamics (good bye flared wheel arches), but what a shame!

There is something curiously cool about this production version. Perhaps because from the side, it doesn’t look that tall, or as johnny said, because it’s black.. The DLO is pretty cool.

Curious to find out their results driving with the WINDOWS DOWN!

I’m going to go out and say it, I think GM’s testing headlights look better then production ones, my examples these black plastic shrouds, and the ones on the camaro a couple of months back

This is one of the best GM vehicles I’ve seen in a long time. This car and the new badass Camaro proves what Chevy can do if they focus their designs. Even the Cruze is butt ugly. But i cant help but see many cues from Acura in this car. particularly in the cheesy grill and the squinted lights. Anyways, its nice and I hope it sales ok.

It is a little sad that the very forward-looking, exciting Volt concept has evolved into just another Hybrid-looking production hatchback, particularly since it ISN’T even a HYBRID! GM should have taken a few more styling risks so people could identify this as a must-have new-fangled ELECTRIC as easily as they can identify the Prius and Insight as a HYBRID. GM’s latest squandered opportunity.. and considering the weight this vehicle is carrying for the company, quite possibly it’s last.

This is the most revolutionary vehicle GM has ever produced, and some of you are picking at minor design details? Sheesh….

Where’s tesla s, again?

It is an electric car with a generator in the engine bay. Oh yeah, and it costs $38,000.00 bare. Be still, my beating heart.

Just to make sure we all understand. No it is not a hybrid. BUT the exterior styling has been tuned to give it the slipperiest shape possible to maximize highway MPG. And currently the knowledge of all the OEM’s produces the common teardrop shape. The prototype was wonderful but I wonder what the difference in highway mileage would be compared to the production shape. To me it would be worth 2 mpg highway to keep the old shape.

The Volt is just a PR stunt. GM will never build it. Isn’t that what was said here a year ago? Where is Mercmarc and the rest?

You know….I understand that everyone is saying that the Volt is not a hybrid because it mainly runs on battery power. But it does run on a generator as well sometimes. In fact, if you look at the driveline of the Volt you will see that the layout is that of a series hybrid. It is different from a Prius or the like because those are parallel hybrids. However, it is still a series hybrid where the battery is used first and then the generator is activated when needed. It is either an electric vehicle, a hybrid, or a gas vehicle….there is no in between! It’s just a different layout than most people are accustomed to.

It is really just a play on words to say that this is not a hybrid. The only reason to say that is to make it sound better to the customer. The funny thing is that series hybrids are not new. They have been around as long as the parallel hybrids but just haven’t been used by OEMs yet. This isn’t even new technology! So, if GM screws up their attempt at already proven technology then I will be sorely disappointed.

Wouldn’t want it. Probably gonna be a piece of junk like all GM products.

Weird. At a quick glance, before you notice all the weird lines and trim, it almost looks like a larger version of the VW Corrado.

Americans will buy these in droves. No longer will they have to see ugly, POS Priuses and Insights littering the breakdown lanes of our highways, Americans will make the switch to a quality, reliable vehicle that will last 100 times longer and be better looking to boot. Be prepared to see the Volt on every cornere and in every driveway.

The final nail in Japlands coffin will be laid by the Volt. GM has officially put the imports out of business.

Buy American. Buy GM. It is your patriotic duty

It is NOT a hybrid! It is always driven by electricity!!!!! A hybrid, like the prius, uses both the gas and electric motor. I think this will sell. The technology will be more expensive because it is more advanced than anything else out there, which means there is room for the price to go down. For me, it will all depend on how GM puts it all together. If the fit and finish is a let down, people will once again go back to gm’s image of being cheap! On a side note, I just put 4k miles on my passat just this week! Having an electric car that does only 40 miles on it’s first battery charge is not a lot! And, as with all batteries, 40 miles will depend on how light your foot is!

This is not a hybrid. No gas engine powers the wheels and thus its not a hybrid- period.

idrin:

This is a commuter car in case you missed it. If you do lots of highway driving the Cruze would be a better option. it may get 40 miles with no gas but that doesnt mean it wont get 35-40mpg once the initial juice runs out.

I think all of the people including myself that said GM would never build this car are all now watching the government move this image builder along now…finally. GM wasn’t going to build it, but after shedding 10’s of billions of debt, the new owners are moving it forward. I for one am happy to see it, and know that people will buy it. The numbers are not going to be great at first, but the competition will heat up, and hopefully we will see 3 or 4 manufactorers go head to head with their own models. I’m a buyer early for these vehicles, but I am not happy with the stigma of the “new bailed out GM” car in my driveway. 40 miles of petrol free driving is going to be a great start…then 50…then 60… then??? Nice.

Ok…so technically no ICE directly drives the wheels. But after 40 miles the ICE kicks in and drives the 53kW generator which will then go through the batteries and to the wheels. But there still is an 4-cylinder ICE that allows the vehicle to go beyond 40 miles. In my mind that makes it a hybrid.

Here is a Wikipedia link that explains it a little bit better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt

Need more oil for GM is back !!!

jdasch, there will be no competition for the Volt. No other manufacturer has the engineering superiority that the General has. And even if another manufacturer like Toyota or Honda were to try and compete with their own plug ins, Americans wouldn’t trust them to be even remotely reliable or built well. We have learned our lessons now that Japcrap is just that. Crap. Junk with a capital “J”. Americans would rather drive a Gm vehicle over any POS import. We know it is unAmerican and unpatriotic to send our money overseas to scumbags in Asia and Europe.

This is GM Country. This is an American Revolution.

Too expensive, plus it will get killed off in a year or so.

sj79,
no doubt that 40 miles will go higher in the times to come, but at $40k, this won’t be just a grocery getter car like the cobalt was, this will replace most 1st cars that people have, regardless of what people at GM say!

What I want to know is, is it more efficient(mpg) to have a generator create electricity that powers the wheels, or an engine that powers the wheels(like the prius)?

I wish it was true Need more oil, i do, but the fact is that GM is bankrupt and toyota is still selling way too many cheap vehicles to ignorant people who look at the price tag and nothing else.
Also, the rear visibility for this prototype looks awful, i mean the driver is going to have like, 5 inches to see out the back. I wish there were some way to make electric/hybrid vehicles look better.

I am still not very fond of that rear. To me, it would be better if it had a conventional rear end, but I guess that’s what every hybrid/electric design has to have :/

Well, it definitely looks better than Prius and Insight.

Will it come to Europe, any day?

Has anyone done an analysis to see how much extra charging this thing up every night is going to add to the average American’s electric bill? Won’t cap-and-trade laws make this even more expensive to juice up? What are the real environmental benefits, since coal is still burned to create the electricity to juice it up, and isn’t a sizable amount of that energy lost in transfer from the plant to the car, thus greatly reducing overall efficiency?

It definitely looks better in a dark color than the usual silver they show. And from the side, the center of the car looks a bit like the former VW Jetta 4-door. Now if they can figure out how to lop $8-10k off the price. Once the Cruze comes out, people shopping the Chevy dealers will say ‘why bother’ to the Volt…except for those GREEN Hollywood celebrities….

It is a Hybrid ! There are different Types of Hybrids 1. Parralell 2. Series 3. Series-parallel hybrid The Tesla is not a Hybrid it is an Electric Car. If it has a Fuel powered engine On-Board that creates Energy it is a “Hybrid”. Lets not fall victim to a “Marketing Ploy”.

Here are The Facts:

1.Parallel hybrid systems, which are most commonly produced at present, have both an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor connected to a mechanical transmission.

2.Series or serial hybrid have also been referred to as a Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV); however, range extension can be accomplished with either series or parallel hybrid layouts.

Series hybrid vehicles are more like a battery electric vehicle in design than an internal combustion vehicle or parallel hybrid. In a series hybrid system, the combustion engine drives an electric generator instead of directly driving the wheels. The generator both charges a battery and powers an electric motor that moves the vehicle

3.Power-split hybrid or series-parallel hybrid systems have features of both series and parallel hybrids. They incorporate power-split devices allowing for power paths from the engine to the wheels that can be either mechanical or electrical. The main principle behind this system is the decoupling of the power supplied by the engine (or other primary source) from the power demanded by the driver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_hybrid#Series_hybrid

The Chevy Volt is A Hybrid Period !

They are marketing it as a EV to get less Pressure from the Federal Government and a Higher MPG rating, regardless it is a Hybrid, if it has a Fuel powered engine that creates Energy in any type of form it is a Hybrid.

-Sarge

Who cares what they call it.

The important thing is that 80% of whoever buys it will rarely if ever hear the engine run. Little to no gas will ever be used. Electricity will be MUCH cheaper, no matter what happens with cap and trade, than running with gasoline. The price of the vehicle will quickly drop (2-3 years).

And to the person who said that GM continues to work on it is because the government gave GM money is incorrect. The government just bought into GM starting 6 months ago. The Volt has been worked on continuously since the concept with no slowing down and is in fact 6 months ahead of schedule.

I bet NMOFG wacks off on his race car bed with his chevy bed sheets while watching Transformers. That guy is completely dillusional and requires a fair amount of psychiatric med/treatment. Good luck to him and godspeed

Thanks Sarge…..I agree…..but I think we already got that point worked out. Good explanation though.

the shape of the volt, as well as the insight and prius, is due simply to aerodynamics…that’s the most slippery shape for a car that has room for 4 adults and a trunk…it’s wedge-like, but it is what it is…don’t fool yourself into thinking they had the option of making the shape any different…they need the most aerodynamic shape as possible for efficiency, so you’re looking at it…if you can’t accept that, you’re not being realistic…

An interesting car… but at nearly $40k they are not going to sell as well as Insight or Prius. Is the general public willing to pay $40k for a Chevrolet that isn’t a Corvette or Silverado?

Flippo789
It is cool I you were 100% correct and I didn’t want anyone to dispute you. I just have an issue with some who never research something before they claim something and that is all there is. Using Period and having nothing to validate it or substantiate it is simply wrong.

-Sarge

I would be fine with 2 mpg less for a car that i could drive in public.
And isn’t the prius even more expensive than this?

I would be fine with 2 mpg less for a car that i could drive in public.
And isn’t the prius even more expensive than this at something like 50k?

No, the Prius costs less but that’s because you are buying the low quality and reliability that comes with every Toyota product. At 40 thousand dollars, you are getting an American vehicle built and backed by the #1 vehicle maker in the world. General Motors. They will ensure you that like any other GM product, the quality and reliability will be unsurpassed by anybody.

When you step back and take a look at the quality of this vehicle and the hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles that it will provide on ZERO gasoline, 40 thousand dollars is a bargain.

Don’t be a fool. Americans will be lined up out the door to get their hands on one of these hot new Volts. Everyone would rather drive a GM vehicle and the Volt promises to deliver.

Buy American. Buy GM. It is your patriotic duty

It has been stated many times that you can have a Volt that looks great or you can have one that has great aerodynamics, not both.

nmofgm:
I didn’t realize how much I missed yor comments till I read that last one. Your like 1115 but for GM.

^ With the Prius and Insight, you get neither. All you get is ugly.

GM. An American Revolution

They are already lined up at the door……..The door to the service dept, bringing there new Camero’s back to fix the ever expanding list of defects in a car thet set a record for the longest amount of time in development….

Get some glasses coco, you were at the Toyota or Honda dealership. What ou saw were the millions of rejected imports ready for the scrapheap. GM is the most respected name in the business. No BS ignoramous is going to convince us of anything otherwise. Get a clue.

Convince “us,” eh?

Clearly he is schizophrenic, too.

“us” is the millions of faithful GM owners and their rabidly loyal fanbase. Get with the times.

NMOFGM, why buy it? We already own it! We paying for it either way.

Need more oil for GM must have been a part of the bailout. Grats!

I’m still not paying anywhere around the $40K rumored for a hybrid. No matter who is selling it.

coco, could you try and prove what you just said about the longest development time, or are you just running at the mouth again?

Wow. “Need more oil for GM” is back. * gasp *

The price of the car is very unattractive. I have to go with a Camry hybrid or Altima hybrid. Both sedans look stellar (well, at least compared to other well-known hybrids) and both start at a more reasonable price.

carstuff, this is not a PR stunt, it is going to go on sale next year! GM has spend way too much in this just to say it was for kicks!

I am a GM supporer but, they said the Traverse and the Malibu would beon top of the charts, but they are not, and they say the Equinox and the Cruze will burn up the charts, but are we sure? The Volt was to be a top seller in the hybrid/electric class, but we alll know that is not going to happen. The reality is the public is too stubborn to accept GM. My uncle works at Weber Chevrolet, and saus that sales are just as good as ever, and the bankruptcy isn’t effecting sales at all. He thinks that the Volt will pull through and sell good. But then again, Weber is a pretty popular dealer, and the one he works at in is a rich community. They have recieved orders for all three ZR1’s they will get and the people who bought them paid for them in cash. That will probably be the same for the Volt there too, but we will see.

Thank you hoosierhero.

Carstuff,
The Camero appeared in “production ready” form in 2005. If you consuder that this is basicly a reskinned Holden, not an all new design, that is a very long time. You are missing the entire point.I continually read about new GM products that are yet to appear, or for that matter are even close to appearing. Where the hell is the Cruz???? Been reading about that here for 3 years. The same old Colbalts are collecting dust at the dealerships. I saw a G8 3 years (At SEMA) 3 years!!!! before it made it to a dealership. GM spent 10 times the money promoting the car before it was available then they did after it finally arrived here. (DOA). GM has a long history of telling people to hold on, things are going to get better. I don’t want to see GM disappear. But compared to the way Alan Mulully has brilliantly restructed Ford, its hard to see how things are going to improve. (Hey Alan, by the way…They need you back at Boeing)

I know that this has nothin to do with cars, but Michael jackson has died.

not yet, they say that his organs are not shut down yet, maybe the volt’s battery pack can shock him back to life in a huge publicity stunt, sending millions of people to GM dealerships, maybe with money, maybe with pitchforks.

^^That was terrible and not funny at all!

Sure as f*ck was. Damn shame I wasn’t looking sooner or I might have written it myself.

it was a bit crude, but i just could not resist. I think we have found our resident MJ fan boy.
Now we have:
need more oil for GM
Need more oil for MJ

BACK ON TOPIC. (sheesh)

While the Volt is revolutionary, it won’t get every single Prius/Insight buyer (but it will probably get some) into its driver’s seat. $30-40K for a base price isn’t that appealing, especially for the “mainstream” Chevrolet brand. But, I’m sure with each generation the price will go down and it will attract more and more buyers. Also, they moved the charging port! I hope that the new setup will still have plugs on both sides of the car.

On a side note, if the Volt goes 40 miles (completely) electrically for $35K (split the diff. between 30 and 40), and the Tesla ROADSTER, basically a rebodied Lotus inside and out, can go about 220 miles for $100K, I’m not sure if the sedan, a bigger, more technologically demanding vehicle can come out at $50K, tax breaks or not. It just doesn’t make sense…

I’m only a fan of his music, but not his behaviors, and i do not support the choices he has made. But the guy just died and everyone is in shock so lets at least show some respect right now.

i can at least do that

BTW how come this prototype has no camo at all, but the EURO and JAPAN imports are ridiculously camoed?

^^good point. Maybe they can’t afford it.

Because the Volt is gorgeous and the imports are fockin ugly. The imports don;t want you to be able to identify them when they’re on the back of a towtruck for the umpteenth time either.

GM. AN American Revolution

Why has it been so long since someone left a comment?
I disagree with the hybrid thing. Wiki can define it any way they want to; but a hybrid is a hybrid ONLY if it drives the wheels. The Volt will ONLY start the engine if the charge gets low enough. THAT is what makes it an EREV. It only BECOMES a hybrid (if you must go there), when the engine is running. Until then, it’s an EV.
Next, not a SINGLE person spoke of the already approved tax credit of $7500. Therefore, the Volt will be $40K-$7500= $32,500. Is this expensive? YES!!!! Is it worth it? YES!!!! It will only cost 40 cents a day to charge it. If not driven over 40 miles a day, this equates to the 230 MPG that GM has announced. If you do the math, a Prius will cost you about $2.00 a day at the same 40 miles. However, WHEN gas prices go up, the Prius will cost more and the Volt will be getting charged by my solar panels at home.

Volt
Front Track : 1535 mm
Rear Track : 1545 mm
Leght : 4540 mm
Widrth : 1750 mm
Wheelbase : 2640 mm
MAX 1400 kg
Wegth 1300 kg
Rear suspension : Torison beam
TEST : OVER STREET